Commiserations to the Swedes.Err, *gritted teeth*, congratulations to the Germans.

Here’s a Mini World Cup update, with a new player from all the teams in the second round.

Two things I forgot to mention about the game I went to yesterday:

1. A ball – sorry, not just a ball; an Adidas +Teamgeist ball – went into the crowd after an errant cross by a Tunisian player. Someone caught the ball, and just like at a baseball game, all the people around him clapped and cheered. A ball boy comes up to the edge of the stand and gestures for him to return the ball. The fan, wanting a souvenir, gestured no. Ball boy went to a steward, who used his orange-jacketed authority to gesture at the fan to return the ball, which he did. Boo to Fifa for this. Why not let someone keep the ball? It’s not like they’re made of plutonium, it’s a ball… let him keep it. Geez…

2. One of Fifa’s partners is the American brewers Anheuser Busch, makers of Budweiser. This caused a bit of a stink when announced, which you might remember, cos Germany is a beer loving nation, with plenty of good beers of its own, thank you very much. Only Bud was on sale at the stadium yesterday. The King of Beers. If, that is, your definition of king is exactly the opposite of the usual definition of king. Beyond the steamroller effect of advertising, I really do wonder what Anheuser Busch hope to achieve by the monopoly in the stadium. Cos all I can imagine happening is 70,000 Germans at each game thinking to themselves, “I’m never drinking that again!”

Well, you never know… I am rooting for England now. With this lack of my own favorites, I am going to be solidary with some of my British friends. My loyalty spreads out widely (whether that’s a good thing or not, I am not entirely sure).

I find it quite depressing that England have played so poorly. If they lose to Portugal, I won’t be too disappointed cos they’ve not shown any reasn so far why they should be able to get to a semi-final.

And hopefully Argentina will get to the final, cos the highlight of this World Cup for me is seeing Maradona go mental when they score, and the wonderful song the Argentinian fans are singing when they’re winning.

The Brazilian Fred wasn’t allowed to keep the ball he scored with, so what chance had an ordinary punter. FIFA officials came into the team dressing room after the game to demand its return. You have to wonder where it might eventually turn up – in the boardroom of a sponsor – or the back yard of a chief executive?